NEWSMAKERS.

Basinger Files For Bankruptcy

May 28, 1993|By Jessica Seigel, Chicago Tribune.

LOS ANGELES — In the latest development in the high-profile "Boxing Helena" lawsuit, actress Kim Basinger filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week as she faced a deadline to begin paying a multimillion-dollar damage award.

After a jury ruling in March that Basinger was in breach of an oral contract for backing out of the independent film at the last minute, Los Angeles Superior Court ordered her to pay $7.4 million in damages and $713,522 more in lawyer fees.

She faced a Wednesday deadline to post a bond of $11 million to $14.8 million-1 1/2 times the judgment-as assurance she will pay. Her attorney, Howard Weitzman, said Chapter 11 was Basinger's only recourse because her net worth is $5 million.

The jury award, according to Weitzman, was far in excess of any profits the film's producer, Carl Mazzocone, could have expected. The jury calculated gross, rather than actual profits, Weitzman said, which he maintains would have been $895,000.

With bankruptcy court protection from asset seizure, Basinger now will have time to pursue an appeal. If the actress had not posted the bond by Wednesday, efforts to seize her assets would have begun.

The producer's attorney, Patricia Glaser, said Basinger rejected attempts to negotiate a payment plan. "This is not a surprise," said Glaser. "It was a cold, calculated business decision on her part. We repeatedly offered to resolve this in many ways."

Weitzman says opposing attorneys didn't return repeated phone calls in recent attempts at settlement negotiations. "They never put a number on the table," Weitzman said. "But I must say this: Kim Basinger was not of a mind to pay these people anything."

The bankruptcy proceedings, to begin in 30 to 50 days, will provide a detailed picture of Basinger's finances.

In his breach-of-contract lawsuit, producer Mazzocone successfully argued that Basinger's last-minute withdrawal cost him millions of dollars in lost sales. The jury award against Basinger reinforced the validity of oral agreements in movie deals, which often are sealed on a handshake.